“There is moral freedom in Soul.” I am grateful to have found this moral freedom that Mary Baker Eddy writes about in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures (p. 58), which identifies Soul as another name for God.

I grew up attending a Christian Science Sunday School and loved what I was learning about God from the Bible. However, while in college, I did not stay with the Christian teachings regarding sexual relations outside of marriage. After graduation, I relocated to Boston and began working at The Mother Church, The First Church of Christ, Scientist. Here, I became certain that I could expect to feel the protection and moral freedom of adhering to Christian teachings. This was a support to me. 

After about a year, I applied to an authorized teacher of Christian Science to take Christian Science class instruction—a two-week course that helps students delve more deeply into the teachings of Christian Science. As this teacher’s class for that year was already filled, I had to wait for the following year’s class. This turned out to be a blessing, because as I prepared for this step, I found I no longer wanted to have sex while dating. I felt that my thought was becoming more spiritual, meaning that while I was studying Christian Science and learning to view life from a more spiritual basis—a life based in God and God’s goodness—my thoughts and actions were being uplifted and transformed. I no longer desired to follow what was considered a societal norm. My desire was to love and live more purely.